Fruit-drier



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FRUIT DRIBR.

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M. E. CLARK. FRUIT DBIBR.

No. 331,768. Patented Deo. 8, 1885.

N. Firinsjmomnagmpnar, Mmmm u c UNITED STATES `artnr trice.

MARY E. CLARK, OF FAIRVILLE, NEWv YORK.

FRUIT- DRIER.

SPECEEECATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 331,768, dated December 8, 1895.

Application filed July 8, 1885.

1'0 @ZZ whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, MARY E. CLARK, of Fairville, in the county of Vayne and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Fruit-Evaporators,which improvement is fully set forth in the following specication aud shown in the accompanying drawings.

The object of my invention is to produce a device for evaporating or drying fruit and vegetables, being small in size, and designed for use in families, and fitted to stand upon au ordinary cooking-stove or kitchen-range, the invention being fully described herein below, and more particularly pointed out in the claim.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l, Sheet l, is au end elevation of my improved evapoY rat-or, shown as standing upon a stove, a part of the end plate being broken away to uncover the interior, the end slide at the bottom being shown in two positions of adjustment by full and dotted lines; Fig. 2, a front elevation of the same, seen as indicated by the arrow as in Fig. l, the doors being open to uncover the trays and other parts; Fig. 3, a plan of the evaporator, viewed as indicated by arrow y in Fig. 1, most of the roof or top of the device being broken away, and the side plate horizontally sectioned, as upon the dotted line z in Fig. l, drawn to further show the arrangement of the trays, 85e.; Fig. 4, Sheet 2, a view of a portion of the rear of the device, drawn to show the slides as being raised from the sur- -face of the stove; Fig. 5, a horizontal section of the device, taken upon the dotted line a in Fig. 2, drawn to more fully show the plate or shield for cutting off the heatof the stove from the interior of the evaporator should the same at any time become too intense; and Fig. 6, a. view of the plate or shield shown as withdrawn from the device.

Referring to the parts, A is the case orbody of the evaporator, and B the doors thereof. C are trays for holding the fruit or vegetables to be dried,resting, within the body of the evaporator upon ledges a, secured to the inner sur` faces of the end plates, b, thereof at equal distances apart vertically. These trays are made with narrow metallic rims or frames Ic, the bottoms of the trays being composed of wire-cloth with large meshes. The trays are purposely made narrower than the in- Serial No. 170,946. (No model.)

terior or case or body of the evaporator, and arranged alternately within the same, as shown in Figs. l and 3. The lower one, for instance, is placed against the rear plate of the case, while the next one above it is drawn forward so as to touch the inner surfaces of the doors when closed, this arrangement causing the heated air rising from the stove that does not percolate the fruit to move horizontally over each tray in succession as it moves upward, (indicated by the current-arrows) the heat passing into the evaporator and the vapor from the drying fruit passes out through the perforated sheet D at thetop of the case. The case is supported by feet or legs d, one at each corner thereof, of sufficient length to hold the body of the evaporator sufficiently far away from the top of the stove to allow cookingutensils placed thereunder so that the presence of, the evaporator upon the stove shall in the least manner interfere with the operation of cooking. The spaces or openings F,below the body ot' the device and between the feet thereof, are closed by slides G, which may be raised or lowered at pleasure. It' the heat of the stove is low and the space under the evaporator not needed for cooking purposes, the slides may be passed down against the stove, as shown in the figures of Sheet l, but, should the surface of the stove under the evaporator be required for cooking,the slides maybe raised, as shown in Fig. 4. The slides G restaud move in vertical holders u, secured to the respective feet,and from the friction between said sliding pieces or slides and contiguous holders the former are each held in any position ot' vertical adjustmentas, for instance, a part of the way up or wholly up-as may be desired. An ilnperf'orate plate, g, is placed upon ledges t within the case in a horizontal position irnniediately below the lower tray,for the purpose of warding ott the heat, should it at any time become so intense as to be liable to injure theV fruit. rlibe plate is of such size as to touch at its respective edges the inner surfaces of the four walls or side plates ofthe case, so as to, as perfectly as possible, cut oft the heat that would otherwise pass into the interior of the case. By putting the plate in place under the tray and raising the slides G at the four sides of thek case to allow the heat arising from the stove to be carried away by horizontal air- IDO currents, the contents of the trays Will not be injured, though a high degree of heatbe main` tained Within the stove. XVhen this plate or shield is not needed, it is entirely withdrawn from the case. The trays areinterchangeable, and may be drawn entirely Without the case through the doorway. The case or body may be made of a height to accommodate any number of trays desirable, care being taken to have the base of such size in horizontal dimensions as to have the feet rest safely upon the top of the stove. length and breadth of base as to cover from one-fourth to onehalf of the upper surface of the stove, and to be moved from place to place thereon, as the necessities of the ease may require. The evaporators are made Wholly of metal, the parts being held together by rivets so the device will not be in any Way injured The evaporators are built of suchA by the heat. The case is also provided with handles i, by means of which the evaporator maybe conveniently handled and moved about.

This device is especially adapted to the purpose of drying the smaller fruits, such asraspberries, Sto. f

WVhat I claim as my invention is- The body of a fruit and vegetable evaporator provided with feet to support it, and vertical holders n,fsecured to said feet, the latter inclosing spaces or openings between them, in combination With vertically-adjustable slidepieces or slides resting in said holders to Wholly or partially close said respective openings, substantially as described.

MARY E. CLARK.

Vitnesses:

E. B. WHITMORE, J. L. REYNOLDS. 

